Boy (12) who fell from Cliffs of Moher had ‘instantaneous' death, says coroner
A 12-year old boy lost his balance after slipping in a puddle close to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher before falling over the edge to his death, his inquest has heard.
In eye-witness testimony at the Clare coroner's court, reviewing the accidental death of Zhihan Zhao at the Cliffs of Moher last July, French tourist Marion Tourgon described seeing him fall over the edge at about 1.45pm on the day.
Zhihan had set out on walking the Cliffs of Moher trail with his mother, Xianhong Huang, and her friends.
In her evidence, a tearful Ms Huang said Zhihan was walking ahead of her on the trail when she lost sight of him.
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Ms Tourgon told the inquest she and her family were taking a selfie when she saw a young Asian boy, who was alone, come into view.
She said she saw his right foot slip into a puddle and his left foot ended up in the air as he tried to stop himself from falling.
'It was very quick. He found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff.'
'His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. He didn't shout and there was no noise.'
She said her family alerted the emergency services by phone.
Speaking through an interpreter Ms Huang said her son walked 'very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres'.
'As there was only one path I thought we would meet him along the way. When I didn't I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre.'
When she couldn't find her son there, she walked back along the path to search for him and then reported him missing.
Ms Huang asked: 'What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the Cliffs?'
Clare coroner Isobel O'Dea said Ms Tourgon's evidence would help answer that question.
Sgt Claire McGuigan said Ms Huang provided a photo of Zhihan she had taken taken earlier on the Cliffs of Moher trail.
Garda Colm Collins said the Coastguard later spotted a body at the base of the cliffs.
A lifeboat was launched but it could not access the area due to the sea conditions. Zhihan's body was recovered from the sea five days later after it was spotted by fisherman, Matthew O'Halloran from Corofin, Co Clare.
The coroner said the post mortem found Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Ms O'Dea said her verdict was one of 'accidental death'.
'It is clear from evidence we heard that Zhihan slipped off the cliffs rather than any other way. His death would have been very quick - instantaneous.'
Ms O'Dea told Ms Huang: 'I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you'.
On August 22nd of last year, the Clare Local Development Company, which manages the trail, closed off large sections of the route, which remain closed off today due to continuing safety concerns.
At the time, the company confirmed it was taking the action following two recent fatal accidents on the trail.
In May 2024, a woman in her 20s from Belgium died after she fell from the cliffs.
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘I called him Dad': the Dublin scout leader and the men who accuse him of abuse
It was an incongruous sight on a sunny, quiet Sunday spring morning: a red van, crumpled at the front, jutting out on to a normally busy road in suburban south Dublin that had been closed by gardaí . The force of the impact with the old Norway Maple had crushed the front of the van on the driver's side; bark had been ripped from the tree. The damage to both van and tree gave an indication of how fast the vehicle had been travelling, in a 50km/h speed limit zone. The single-vehicle crash , which happened shortly after 6am on Sunday, April 7th, 2024 in Churchtown, claimed the life of the driver, the van's sole occupant. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Three hours later, the road was still closed as gardaí investigated how it happened. A garda at the tape cordon declined to speculate. The scene of the crash in which Neville Kearns died on April 7th, 2024 Within 48 hours it emerged that the driver, who was 69, had been due to stand trial the following day on 113 counts including charges of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape and attempted rape. They related to allegations made by five complainants dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. READ MORE The man's identity has never been publicly disclosed. His name was Neville Kearns. A number of men had provided statements to the Garda, lodging complaints that had led to his pending trial in the criminal courts. Kearns, of Edenvale Apartments, a gated apartment complex on Grange Road – not far from Marlay Park in Rathfarnham, south Dublin – was facing 71 counts of indecent assault, 27 of sexual assault, 13 of rape and two of attempted rape at the time of his death. The trial had been due to begin eight days before his 70th birthday. Edenvale Apartments, Rathfarnham, where Neville Kearns lived. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw On Monday, April 8th, 2024 the court was informed of Kearns's death; counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions told Mr Justice Paul McDermott, sitting at Dublin Central Criminal Court, that the DPP was entering a nolle prosequi – a decision to no longer prosecute. The court directed that the indictment be marked 'deceased'. The men concerned had been ready to go into the witness box to testify against Kearns and outline the abuse they claimed to have suffered at his hands. Today, three of them have decided to share their story publicly for the first time but wish to maintain their anonymity. They believe that being named could bring 'chaos' into their lives and those of their loved ones. Gardaí seal off the road in Churchtown following the crash in which Neville Kearns died last year 'I have children in college, an elderly mother to care for, bills to pay and a life to live,' one says. Now aged in their late 40s and 50s, the men allege that Kearns targeted, groomed and regularly sexually assaulted them as children. They say the alleged incidents took place in the 1980s and early 1990s, when they were aged between 10 and 15, and Kearns was in his 20s and 30s. Kearns denied the allegations. Kearns was a former member of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland, as it was then known, and worked as a house master at St Joseph's School For Deaf Boys in Cabra, Dublin. He went on regular camping trips with boys. Many of these were not official scouting events, but the men say Kearns used his previous involvement in the organisation as a way to legitimise himself. In some cases, the alleged abuse also took place in the children's homes or in Kearns's family home. The men say they worked through decades of pain – and years of preparing for the prospect of a trial – only to have their chance at justice snatched from them 24 hours before they were due in court. 'The whole world fell apart really,' says Andrew*. 'It was the Sunday morning; the trial was the next morning, Monday. And I just knew – as soon as I saw the guard's name come up [on my phone] – I knew.' He knew Kearns was dead and the trial was never going to happen. Neville Kearns on a trip with scouts Andrew believes the location of the crash is significant; two of the men who claim Kearns abused them as children live in the area. He says he was 'absolutely terrified' in the weeks leading up to the trial date, knowing he would be 'quizzed' on the most traumatic thing that ever happened to him. 'It was something I had to do,' he says. 'My own son was the same age as I was at that stage. I could see myself in him as a kid. That drove me on.' His motivation in testifying was to get Kearns 'taken off the streets, and not let him have the opportunity to be in the company of kids'. Andrew had considered contacting the authorities about Kearns for some time, but didn't feel he could do so until his own parents had died: 'I absolutely couldn't do anything about it while they were still alive because they had entrusted this man so deeply. It would have broken their hearts.' Neville Kearns: Scouting Ireland says Kearns ceased to be a member of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland in 1976 and later established an independent youth group He was considering what to do when, at his mother's wake, he received a text message. It was Kearns. 'It was the first time I'd heard from him in over 20-odd years, sending his commiserations,' Andrew says, pausing as he recalls it. 'The neck of him.' Receiving this message angered Andrew, but it solidified his decision to contact the authorities – first Tusla, then the Garda. He thought he was 'the only one in the world' who Kearns targeted but, in recent years, found out 'it was way bigger than I'd anticipated'. 'I was shocked, flabbergasted,' he says. Chris (not his real name), one of the men who made a complaint to the Garda about Neville Kearns. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw 'Chris' speaks about the Dublin scout leader who abused him Listen | 02:42 Over several years, Kearns befriended the boys and, crucially, their parents. 'Everybody adored him, everybody thought he was just this amazing man who gave so freely of his time for the local youth who were just hanging around all summer,' says Chris*, one of the men whose complaints led to the former scout leader's prosecution. 'He was a very charismatic, attractive, friendly, gentle man – that was his persona. It was just this kind, caring person that would happily look after your kids.' On a sunny afternoon, sitting in his livingroom, Chris recalls how the 1980s were 'a completely different time'. 'Everybody was a latchkey kid in the summer in Ireland,' he says, describing carefree days when children regularly went without adult supervision. Chris was raised by a single mother. Kearns became a mentor and, ultimately, a father figure. 'I called him Dad,' he says, adding that his mother was 'delighted' he had a positive male role model in his life. 'I called him dad': 'Chris' speaks about how he was groomed and abused by Neville Kearns Listen | 02:42 He doesn't believe he was abused because his mother was a single parent who worked outside the home to provide for her family. 'I was abused because he found a vulnerability in me and exploited it,' he says. Others allegedly abused by Kearns grew up with both parents or stay-at-home mothers, he recalls. Neville Kearns in his scout uniform Chris says he knew Kearns for about a year before anything inappropriate happened. By that stage, Chris trusted him 'completely'. 'It was letters first; I'd get little notes from him and he'd tell me how much he loved me,' he says. Over time, Chris says, Kearns started to become physical with him – ultimately forcing him to carry out sexual acts on a regular basis. At the height of the alleged abuse, he says, Kearns would frequently visit his house – unbeknown to Chris's mother – and assault him during the night. He would then 'hide under the bed until he could sneak out in the morning'. Chris describes the sexual acts perpetrated against him as 'horrific'. They had a 'profound impact' on his emotional state. 'He made me feel like I was the one who wanted it. It's very difficult to get past those emotions,' he says. 'I loved him as a father. I suppose that's why it all unwound for me as soon as I had kids. Fathers don't have sex with their children. What the hell was he doing?' Eileen Finnegan, a psychotherapist who helped Chris through intensive therapy, says the alleged grooming in this case is typical of predators; befriending boys and their families over a prolonged period of time so, when it finally happened, the abuse 'totally blindsided people'. 'The power and control and the level of grooming that he was able to do – he was absolutely systematic in what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing,' she says. Eileen Finnegan, psychotherapist and former clinical director of the charity One in Four. Photograph: Alan Betson Finnegan has extensively researched this area and previously served as the clinical director at One in Four, a charity that supports survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She says it is common for survivors of abuse to compartmentalise what happened to them – or block it out completely. 'For the mental wellbeing of the person, the brain actually comes in and splits off because it is so traumatic. It's a huge coping mechanism,' she says. [ View that child sex abuse is a thing of the past 'has allowed it to persist', says charity Opens in new window ] It is also relatively common for people not to disclose what happened to them until after their parents have died. Finnegan says survivors of abuse can find it difficult to tell their loved ones, especially parents, because it's usually them who welcomed the offenders into the family home. 'No child comes over with an adult and says: 'Mam and Dad, I'm after bringing a friend home for you.' It is mostly Mam and Dad there with a neighbour or friend or somebody that has begun to acquaint themselves with the family,' she says. Chris says that, while processing what had happened to him through therapy, he realised that it was unlikely he was the only one who had been targeted by Kearns. 'With the awful clarity of hindsight, I now look back at photographs from that time and I can identify the children [Kearns] likely targeted,' he says. The three men interviewed by The Irish Times say they were assaulted in numerous locations – often on camping trips. On several occasions, they claim, Kearns got them drunk on rum or port. Chris says the sexual acts perpetrated against him had a 'profound impact'. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw 'If I smell [rum] now, it makes me go somewhere, so I don't touch it,' says Michael*, another of those whose complaints led to the criminal prosecution being taken against Kearns. Michael says he was regularly abused on camping trips and at Kearns's house. On one occasion, he and other boys were visiting St Joseph's School For Deaf Boys in Cabra for a 'sleepover'. Kearns allegedly kept giving the boys mugs of rum. Michael got very drunk and remembers being carried out of the room. 'When I woke, it was in his private room. It still sends a shiver down my spine as to what happened that night,' he says. 'How many other boys, vulnerable boys, ended up there?' Becoming emotional, Michael says the abuse lasted for several years and he 'prayed' it would end. On multiple occasions as an adult, he 'pointed the car in the direction of Dundrum Garda station and started to drive'. 'But I never made it,' he says. In 2019, while sitting at home one evening, Michael told his wife what had happened to him as a child. 'I just blurted it out ... within an hour, we were at the Garda station,' he recalls. He didn't realise that, at around the same time, other men were also contacting the Garda or Tusla about Kearns. Ultimately, a case file was prepared for the office of the DPP, which agreed there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial. 'I categorically know that there are other men out there who have suffered at his hands but haven't come forward or, if they've come forward, they decided not to press charges,' Michael says. Whether they choose to contact gardaí or not, he adds, these men should seek support from a loved one or professional – if they feel ready to do so. Neville Kearns as a scout leader A spokesman for An Garda Síochána said the first statement of complaint they received about Kearns was made in May 2019. He was 'arrested and interviewed on several occasions' in relation to complaints made by five men, he added. 'Anyone who believes they may have been a victim or have knowledge of an alleged crime is encouraged to contact any Garda station,' the spokesman said. 'Victims can be assured that they will be supported and heard. An Garda Síochána will treat all reports sensitively and in confidence.' A spokeswoman for Scouting Ireland said that according to its records, Kearns ceased to be a member of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland in 1976 and was not affiliated with any of the legacy scout organisations after that time. (The Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and Scout Association of Ireland merged to form Scouting Ireland in 2004.) [ Embattled Scouting Ireland board 'exhausted' by infighting, review finds Opens in new window ] She noted that Kearns established an independent youth group 'which was not authorised by, or affiliated to, the legacy scouting organisations'. 'Individuals who were members of [this group], and believed it to have been an official scout group, came forward disclosing abuse to Scouting Ireland in 2019 and 2020,' she said. The spokeswoman said Scouting Ireland recognises the men's 'bravery in speaking out', adding that the organisation has paid for counselling services. 'We encourage any individual who experienced abuse while in scouting to report the matter to the appropriate authorities or to Scouting Ireland's safeguarding team.' Neville Kearns on a scouting trip St Joseph's School for Deaf Boys no longer exists. It amalgamated with St Mary's School for Deaf Girls to form a new school, Holy Family School for the Deaf, in 2016. A spokeswoman for the new school said it 'adheres rigorously' to child protection legislation and guidelines. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said it cannot comment on individual cases but encouraged people to come forward if they needed support. As he reflects on the fact that a trial will now never take place, Chris says Kearns's death meant that 'he could just disappear into the footnotes of history without a trace'. Imagining what he would have said to Kearns in court, he says: 'You had the opportunity to face up to what you had done but you chose not to, and so you have left a despicable legacy of abuse over decades. How many more children did you violate? When did you stop? Did you stop? We will never know – that secret has gone to the grave with you, as your final act of cowardice.' Fourteen months on, pieces of shattered glass from Kearns's van still sit at the foot of the maple tree he crashed into in Churchtown. The men deprived of their day in court and the justice they sought will be picking up the pieces for years to come. * Names have been changed to protect the interviewees' identities ** Reporter Órla Ryan can be contacted at ** If you have been affected by anything in this story, please contact One in Four by e-mailing info@ or calling 01 66 24070; the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's freephone 24-Hour National Helpline can be reached by calling 1800 77 8888 * If you have had a similar experience, you can share this using the form below.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Prominent businessman loses bid for reporting restrictions on £1bn loan fraud trial
A prominent Belfast businessman accused of fraud in relation to a £1 billion (€1.2 billion) loan deal has been unsuccessful in his bid to have reporting restrictions imposed on the trial. Frank Cushnahan has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had sought to have reporting restrictions put in place during the trial. His co-accused, Ian Coulter, has also pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mr Coulter did not seek to have reporting restrictions applied. The charges against the men relate to the sale of a loan book held by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which was set up by the Irish government to deal with toxic property loans after the banking crisis in 2008. READ MORE Mr Cushnahan had sought an order from the court pursuant to section 4 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which states that reporting on certain proceedings may be postponed if there is 'a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice in those proceedings'. In dismissing the application, Mr Justice Ian Huddleston of the Crown Court of Northern Ireland said there was 'no substantial risk to the applicant on the facts'. He said there is 'substantial public interest' in the trial. 'The public interest in fair and accurate reporting of criminal trials generally, and the promotion of public confidence in the administration of justice and the rule of law, is something which very much tends to the dismissal of the application,' the judge said. Nama's Northern Ireland loan book was sold to a US investment fund in 2014. Mr Cushnahan, a former member of Nama's Northern Ireland advisory committee, is charged with fraud for allegedly failing to disclose information to Nama between April 1st and November 7th, 2013. Mr Coulter, a solicitor, is alleged to have made a false representation to a law firm on or around September 11th, 2014. He is also charged with making an article in connection with a fraud, namely a £9 million invoice, and two counts of concealing or transferring criminal property on various dates in 2014. Both men are accused of making a false representation to Nama and a law firm in April 2014. They deny all charges. In his written judgment, which was delivered on Wednesday, Mr Justice Huddleston said: 'The application to this court was essentially by way of written submissions made by Mr Cushnahan's counsel as expanded upon orally but acknowledged by him to be unsupported by any evidential basis or other supporting information.' Mr Cushnahan was represented by Frank O'Donoghue KC and Bobbie-Leigh Herdman BL, instructed by Paul Dougan from John J Rice Solicitors. Four media organisations intervened in the case – The Irish Times, RTÉ, BBC and Mediahuis. They were represented by Richard Coghlin KC, instructed by Fergal McGoldrick of Carson McDowell LLP. Jonathan Kinnear KC and Lauren Cheshire BL, instructed by the Public Prosecution Service, supported the media interveners' submissions.
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Irish Times
Co Limerick garda acquitted of charges he fixed motoring offences for drivers
A Limerick-based garda has been found not guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegations he fixed motoring offences for drivers. Garda Thomas Flavin was acquitted of a total of 22 counts of allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court following an eight day trial. The jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on 17 of the charges. Earlier, the jury was directed by the trial judge, Colin Daly, to return not guilty verdicts in respect of five counts against Garda Flavin. The garda, who had denied all of the charges, was supported in court throughout the trial by family friends and colleagues. READ MORE Garda Flavin was arrested following an investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI). He was accused of knowingly entering false motor insurance details on the Garda Pulse computer records system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against people for driving without insurance. His trial heard the drivers involved were stopped at routine Garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated Garda station within 10 days of the traffic stop. All of the drivers involved nominated Rathkeale Garda station, and, later, when the investigating garda in each of the traffic stops carried out follow up checks of Pulse they were satisfied the details entered indicated that the driver in each case was insured. However, the court heard some of the drivers were actually not insured and had been prosecuted in court after pleading guilty to driving without insurance. On Thursday, Garda Flavin's barrister, senior counsel Mark Nicholas, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, urged the jury to acquit his client of all of the charges and said there was no evidence of wrongdoing. Mr Nicholas told the jury Garda Flavin was an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years. Mr Nicholas spoke of the 'unique challenges' gardaí face in Rathkeale as opposed to other jurisdictions. 'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. 'One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful," he said. 'We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.' The court heard evidence that people had provided certain documents at Rathkeale Garda station, where Garda Flavin was based at the time. However it was unclear who produced the documents nor was it clear what documents they produced. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, had alleged that the evidence would show that Garda Flavin had 'sorted out' the uninsured drivers by inputting data into Pulse to try to frustrate prosecutions against them. Ms Murphy had told the jury that the prosecution case was 'a circumstantial case' with 'no direct evidence'. 'Instead, the prosecution relies on indirect evidence,' she said. She had argued that all of the relevant data entries into Pulse 'were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin'. She alleged Garda Flavin knew the drivers were not insured and that he entered their details on to Pulse to ensure they appeared covered. 'Mr Flavin knew what he was doing, and he did so to ensure those people were insured (on Pulse) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution,' Ms Murphy said. However, after deliberating for three hours and 21 minutes, the jury unanimously dismissed all of the allegations.
